tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6949233423397682208.post6664450619871047741..comments2023-09-20T10:00:55.979-04:00Comments on Where are we going & why are we in this handbasket: Philadelphia Magazine Feature ThoughtsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6949233423397682208.post-40984512382103767172011-05-13T22:28:26.063-04:002011-05-13T22:28:26.063-04:00What's interesting to me is that I have taught...What's interesting to me is that I have taught in two school districts-- one was "in distress" and the other was "middle class normal." I had many more discipline problems in the middle class setting. I believe the reason is that in poverty stricken schools where parents are absent and teachers are often incompetent or shackled to a script, any time a good caring teacher comes along the students will do ANYTHING for that teacher. When I moved to the 'better' situation I found that parents tried to rescue their kids at every turn, would not believe a teacher's word, and assumed that their child would receive an A for minimal effort. As a result, students did not get as attached to teachers and therefore did not perform as well for me because they had plenty of caring adults in their lives. If I left there would be someone else. <br /><br />I still believe that there's blame to go around. It's not all the students, but part of the responsibility is theirs. A lot of it though is parents (and administration) who are thinking about what the kids want and not what they need.<br /><br />Are you planning to write about the CNN special "Don't Fail Me" on Sunday? I'll be watching and blogging myself, so I'll be interested to hear your thoughts afterwards.Amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03460700751532165152noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6949233423397682208.post-62907255455484541542011-05-11T10:40:23.507-04:002011-05-11T10:40:23.507-04:00Amen! I completely agree...As a former elementary...Amen! I completely agree...As a former elementary school teacher, I have to say that (sadly) I saw a lot of the same attitudes and behaviors in children as young as five years old. At such a young age, their behavior was shocking and appalling; time and time again I learned that it was all due to the influence of the parents and what was going on outside of the school environment. Yes, we have a nation of parents and students who do not care, who feel they are entitled to things simply for existing, and who excel and nothing other than deflecting responsibility. <br /><br />To be fair, not ALL students and parents can be classified as detrimental to the public education system. Some are quite wonderful to teach/work with, but those people are in the minority. I miss my motivated, thoughtful students and their supportive parents, and applaud those that are still "fighting the good fight" in the face of such seemingly insurmountable problems in school culture today. <br /><br />I also wonder when the hell our nation's administrators will stop entrenching themselves in the 1980s-way of thinking and finally support those teachers who dare to Tell It Like It Is; the behind-closed-doors scenario you described is a commonplace occurrence, and it's doing more harm than good.Anjelicahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732441764214988653noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6949233423397682208.post-61205209131752708092011-05-11T08:52:17.807-04:002011-05-11T08:52:17.807-04:00I haven't followed the link to the article yet...I haven't followed the link to the article yet--I will when I have the time to look at it, as your situation continues to intrigue and frighten me--but is it possible the unnamed colleague was speaking of YOU as having the least responsibility in the handbasketry? We teachers ARE most repsonsive to and least responsible for, right?Mrs. Chttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00398436173535554878noreply@blogger.com